Creamy Polenta

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Polenta, which I always think of (rightly or wrongly) as Italian grits, is the most amazing vehicle for just about any kind of savory sauce, ragu, sauteed greens, vegetables or mushrooms, stew…..really the only limit here is your imagination! While traditionally polenta is made with just water, cornmeal, salt and maybe a bit of butter, I’m excited to share with you a little richer super yummy version of this ancient dish made with milk, fresh corn (or frozen) and then finished off with some butter and parmesan cheese (parmigiano-reggiano!) just before serving to add some extra cheesy nutty salty goodness! So let’s get started!

Look at this slurry of milk, water, salt and corn…..seemingly so innocent! But please be warned, this mixture (which is the beginnings of your polenta) needs a watchful eye as you bring it to a boil! So please, do what I say and not what I do….which is literally 9 times out of 10 getting distracted and having to lunge towards the stove muttering my expletive of choice as this milky mixture is boiling over and creating a sticky mess all over my stove! Arghhhhh!

Once the liquid has come to a boil, (and hopefully not boiled over!) it’s time to very s-l-o-w-l-y whisk in the polenta/cornmeal. I usually add about a tablespoon at a time and whisk well after each addition to keep the polenta from clumping together. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if it’s clumping with the corn kernels as part of the mixture, but just keep whisking away and taking your time as you add the polenta and you will be fine.

After all the polenta is whisked in, turn down your heat so mixture is nicely simmering and continue stirring the polenta with a wooden spoon. Why a wooden spoon??? I don’t know, it just seems right, and is probably the traditional instrument for stirring polenta. But you could use a silicone spoon or spatula, as long whatever tool you chose can lift the polenta from the bottom of the pan and scrape the sides so the cooked polenta isn’t sticking to the pan, but is being folded back into the polenta mixture. The key here is to keep stirring the polenta as it cooks…..after the first couple of minutes it doesn’t need to be a constant stirring…..but don’t go too far from your stove so you can give your polenta a whirl every couple of minutes.

Your goal in cooking the polenta is giving it sufficient time to swell or hydrate all those granules of cornmeal so the ending texture is smooth and devoid of any grittiness. As it cooks your polenta will transform to a thickened mush and the color will change from a pale yellow to a lovely more golden color. So how do you know when you polenta is actually cooked? Such a good question! Once the grittiness is gone, you can eat your polenta. For a medium grind cornmeal (Aside, cornmeal usually comes in fine, medium or coarse grind. Any of them are fine to use, just know the cooking times will vary with the grind, fine cooking the quickest and coarse taking the most time. I usually choose a medium grind.) this is typically about 15 minutes. HOWEVER, if you continue stirring and cooking your polenta for an EXTRA 15 minutes or so the polenta becomes even creamier and the delicious corn flavor becomes more pronounced. So sometimes I stop at the 15 minute point because, well, dinner just needs to get on the table! But the reward of cooking for another 15-20 minutes is really a smoother creamier yummier polenta. Whichever route you choose, stir in some butter and grated parmigiano-reggiano just before serving to punch up the richness of your polenta! Enjoy!